


Parallel Universe

by GiantPurpleCephalopod



Series: Red Dwarf Inspired fics [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Reality, F/F, F/M, Female versions of male characters, M/M, Male versions of female characters, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:37:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4966555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiantPurpleCephalopod/pseuds/GiantPurpleCephalopod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another Red Dwarf inspired fic. Jim is oblivious to the way that Spock and McCoy feel about him. When an encounter with a space anomaly leaves the crew of the U.S.S. <i>Enterprise</i>  in a parallel universe where gender is inverted, he gets a chance to observe 'himself' and things finally start to slot into place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Space Anomaly

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own _Star Trek,_ or hold any rights pertaining to the characters and/or universe contained therein. I do not intend to infringe upon anyone else's rights or to cause any offence by my use of aforementioned universe and characters in this work of fan fiction. Nor do I own _Red Dwarf,_ or hold any rights pertaining to the characters and/or universe contained therein, nor is it my intention to infringe upon anyone else's rights or to cause offence by borrowing concepts from the episode 'Parallel Universe'.
> 
> If you haven't seen the _Red Dwarf_ episode 'Parallel Universe' I highly recommend you watch it. It's wonderfully hilarious. Basically, a failed attempt at speeding up space travel jumps them into a parallel universe where the male characters meet female 'opposites' of themselves - except for the Cat. _His_ opposite is a Dog.
> 
> Yes ... I have a terrible habit of trying to work on a million different things at once. I tried so hard not to start posting this story while I had other works in progress to finish posting, but I just can't help myself! I want to know what people think. I feel just like Lisa Simpson begging: "Look at me! Grade me! Evaluate and rank me! I'm good, good, good and _oh_ so smart!"

_The woman who flickered into focus on the viewscreen vividly reminded Jim of a poster he had once seen on a classmate’s bedroom wall in high school. The title underneath had read ‘Queen of the Amazons’. There were, however, a few differences: the woman now looking him up and down was wearing Starfleet Command Gold and not a particularly skimpy-looking leopard fur bikini; her long, blonde hair was neatly pulled back into a stylish bun at the back of her head, as opposed to flowing freely in the breeze; her face was not splattered with the blood of the enemy warrior she had just impaled on her sword, although she_ was _wearing a vivid shade of red lipstick. The build was the same though - tall, with legs that seemed to go on forever, and a small waist that only served to highlight the extremely generous curves of hips and bust and buttocks._

_A woman like that normally would have had Jim’s heart beating a little faster, his skin flushing a little warmer and his pants feeling a little tighter, but this one … objectively, sure, she was drop dead gorgeous - but she also looked disturbingly like his twin, from the golden hue of her complexion to the azure shade of her striking blue eyes._

_There was a Captain’s Insignia on her uniform._

_Jim noticed all these little details in the second between the woman appearing on the viewscreen and her mouth opening to speak._

_“Unidentified Starfleet vessel,” she began, “this is Captain Jane Kirk of the Starship_ Enterprise. _Please identify yourselves. Are you in need of assistance?”_

_A hush fell over the bridge. If someone had dropped a pin, Jim would have heard it. He swallowed and licked lips gone suddenly dry._

_“I’m sorry,” he said to the woman on the screen, “but could you please repeat that?”_

**Half an hour earlier …**

“Aww, come on, Bones! Please?”

The simple country doctor-turned space explorer narrowed his eyes at his Captain and best friend over the glass of bourbon he was sipping. “No, Jim - not for all the peaches in Georgia.”

“But _Bones-”_

Commander Spock, the half Vulcan who served as both First Officer and Chief Science Officer aboard the U.S.S. _Enterprise,_ cleared his throat from where he was sitting across the 3D chessboard from his Captain. He arched one eyebrow primly as he deftly used his bishop to capture his opponent’s queen.

“Your move, Jim.”

“Shit,” Captain James T. Kirk muttered softly to himself as he surveyed his options. Things weren’t looking good. He hopped his rook up a level, trying to push back against Spock’s advantage.

“You don’t know what I was going to say - either of you!”

Dr Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Ship’s Surgeon and Chief Medical Officer, tossed back the rest of his drink. “Don’t need to, Jim. Any sentence that starts with ‘Hey, Bones, can you do me a favour?’ can only lead to trouble. And it doesn’t take a genius, I might add, to know that it probably has something to do with the cute new nurse who transferred aboard from the _Potemkin.”_

“You don’t know that.”

“Jim,” Spock’s voice was as unfailingly smooth and monotone as always. “It is unbecoming of a man of your consequence and rank to pout. Check.”

“I -” Jim harrumphed and crossed his arms across his chest, glaring at the chess pieces as if willing them to move themselves. “Forget it. Some friends you two are.”

The trio of officers were comfortably tucked away in the back corner of one of the _Enterprise’s_ recreation rooms, the cheerful hum of their fellow crew members’ bustle and chatter washing over them in warm, pleasant waves. The last week or two had been peacefully uneventful, with nothing more onerous happening than the discovery of a few new class M planets and crew morale was particularly high. The only person on board who _didn’t_ seem happy was the captain. He had been restless and irritable all week, just itching for something _exciting_ to happen.

McCoy set down his empty glass and slouched low in his chair with his long legs crossed in front of him. He was the image of relaxed. “Why don’t you try gettin’ your kicks from somethin’ _other_ than skirt chasin’, Jimmy boy? Maybe then you’d find somethin’ that kept you interested for more’n a week or two …”

“Indeed, Jim,” Spock’s Queen was on the warpath, and she was taking no prisoners. “Whilst it is undeniable that there is much ‘thrill’ to be had ‘in the chase’, it is also an undeniably short lived sensation. A pastime that would allow you to find internal, rather than external, validation would ultimately give you greater satisfaction.”

Jim snorted, and opened his mouth to reply - when the rec room was bathed in red light and the alarm klaxons began sounding. All three men - as well as the assorted other _Enterprise_ crew members scattered here and there about the room - leapt to their feet as the cool voice of Communications Officer Lt. Uhura came clearly over the intercom.

_“Red Alert. All decks on Red Alert. Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock to the Bridge. Captain Kirk, acknowledge. Commander Spock, acknowledge.”_

Two long, bounding strides had Jim at the intercom panel on the wall. He slammed his hand down on the button. “Bridge, this is Captain Kirk. Commander Spock is with me - we’ll be right there.”

Both officers ran for the turbolift, Dr McCoy jogging at their heels.

The turbolift doors opened and they stepped onto the bridge and into a scene of utter chaos. People were shouting readings out at one another above the wailing of the klaxons, while all over the bridge computer consoles were alight with flashing buttons and warning lights.

“Sulu, what’s happening?” Jim barked out as he slid into the Captain’s chair. Spock strode past him to the science console, while Dr McCoy hovered behind Jim’s chair, one hand resting on the black leather.

“Scanners have detected a rapidly approaching gaseous anomaly, sir,” Lt. Sulu, Chief Helmsman shouted over the alarm from his seat at the helm. “It’s massive - too big for us to be able to evade, no matter which way we try to go!”

“The anomaly is approaching the _Enterprise_ at Warp 8.5 and gaining speed, Captain - no, 9.2 - no, 10.5,” Ensign Chekov called out from his adjacent seat at tactical. “Estimated time to collision in 5 seconds!”

“All hands, brace for impact!” Jim shouted into the intercom on the arm of his chair. While, theoretically, running into a big ball of gas should be no worse than sailing through a cloud, things never seemed to work out that way for Kirk and his crew. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The next moment the _Enterprise_ was rocked as the giant gas cloud struck.

Jim gripped the black leather arms of his captain’s chair tight as the ship groaned and shuddered, her fragile silver hull pummeled by the fearsome solar winds (or something very like them) that shrieked and tore through the interior of the anomalous cloud. The bridge was bathed in red from the lights that accompanied the screaming alarm klaxons. All around the captain Starfleet personnel staggered and scrambled, clinging grimly to seats and consoles as the ship was tossed from side to side, like an old fashioned sea-going vessel on a storm-whipped sea. McCoy was barely able to keep his feet, clutching the back of Jim’s chair for dear life.

The Captain’s famously brilliant clear blue eyes were fixed with grim determination upon the viewscreen ahead. Outside nothing could be seen but an endless stretch of pinky-lilac cloud, streaked with shocks of silver and purple lightning, surrounding them on all sides. An unpleasant smell, like something burning, assailed the nostrils. The air grew hot and dry. A dreadful noise, louder even than the screech of the klaxons, assaulted their ears, like countless thousands of doomed souls screaming.

Of all the things the crew of the _Enterprise_ had ever endured this was one of the most terrifying.

“Spock!” Jim cried out, straining to be heard over the awful ruckus. “Any idea what this is?”

“Perhaps, Captain.” The half-Vulcan clung grimly to the science console as the ship lurched violently. He had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard. “There are multiple points of comparison between this phenomenon and the one which accompanied the movement of the _Narada_ from its timeline into ours. I would surmise that we have entered something very like a doorway through space and time.”

“Of course we have,” Jim muttered under his breath. He needn’t have bothered trying to be quiet - no one could hear him unless he bellowed anyway.

“Captain, look!” yelled Lt. Sulu, Chief Helmsman, pointing at the screen with one hand while he clung desperately to the helm with the other. All eyes turned to the screen.

There, far in the distance, a tiny dark spot in the cloud. _A way out._

“Can you get us there, Sulu?” Jim screamed over the noise all around him.

The Captain couldn’t hear him, nor could he see his face to see the grim determination written there when Sulu muttered to himself: “I’m damn well gonna try.”

Slowly, painstaking inch by painstaking inch, the _Enterprise_ struggled towards that far distant chance at salvation. Screens and consoles all across the bridge were warning of failing shields and imminent hull breach. More and more wailing alarms were added to the ear-splitting cacophony of noise already on the bridge. The hull groaned and shuddered ominously.

That little spot slowly - oh, so slowly - grew and grew, revealing the black expanse of space and tiny little pinprick stars. Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott screamed from his place at the engineering console: “The engines cannae take much more o’ this, sir! She’s no’ gonna hold!”

“Keep her going, Scotty!” Jim hollered back, sweat beginning to bead on his handsome face, his eyes still riveted on that little patch of space. “Make her hold! We’re doomed if you don’t!”

The spot drew ever closer, gradually increasing in size. Within it, something was coming into view. It was like looking into a mirror - the object was approaching them as they were approaching it, and slowly, oh-so _slowly_ , it resolved itself into another constitution class starship.

Aboard the _Enterprise_ the alarms screamed the imminent demise of the shields …

And then, just as suddenly as they had been engulfed in the anomaly, they were free of it.

There was a long moment of stunned - well, not _silence_ , because alarms were still wailing and lights were flashing, and nobody could quite believe that they were still alive.

Jim looked down at his own hand where it clutched at the arm of the Captain’s chair. His knuckles were white and aching from gripping the leather armrest for so long, and his hand trembled when he first let go. He licked dry lips and swallowed. That hadn’t been particularly fun…

“Captain!”

Jim glanced up sharply at Spock’s exclamation - the Vulcan (who didn’t have a single hair out of place) was staring fixedly at the viewscreen. Jim’s eyes followed his gaze.

There on the screen in front of him was another U.S.S. _Enterprise._ The name on the ship was unmistakably clear, as was the serial number - _NCC-1701._

The alarms and the flashing and the general chaos were slowly winding down. You no longer had to shout to be heard. More and more eyes were turning to the viewscreen and gasps of astonishment were ringing out all over the bridge.

Jim swallowed again. “Uhura,” he managed to get out - all that shouting over the alarms had left his voice croaky. “Hail that ship.”

“Yes, Sir.” Uhura’s fingers moved rapidly over the buttons and switches on her console. “Hailing frequency o- sir, _they’re_ hailing _us_.”

“On screen.” Jim stood, straightening his now somewhat-rumpled gold command tunic, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin.

The woman who flickered into focus on the viewscreen vividly reminded Jim of a poster he had once seen on a classmate’s bedroom wall in high school. The title underneath had read ‘Queen of the Amazons’. There were, however, a few differences: the woman now looking him up and down was wearing Starfleet Command Gold and not a particularly skimpy-looking leopard fur bikini; her long, blonde hair was neatly pulled back into a stylish bun at the back of her head, as opposed to flowing freely in the breeze; her face was not splattered with the blood of the enemy warrior she had just impaled on her sword, although she _was_ wearing a vivid shade of red lipstick. The build was the same though - tall, with legs that seemed to go on forever, and a small waist that only served to highlight the extremely generous curves of hips and bust and buttocks.

A woman like that normally would have had Jim’s heart beating a little faster, his skin flushing a little warmer and his pants feeling a little tighter, but this one … objectively, sure, she was drop dead gorgeous - but she also looked disturbingly like his twin, from the golden hue of her complexion to the azure shade of her striking blue eyes.

There was a Captain’s Insignia on her uniform.

Jim noticed all these little details in the second between the woman appearing on the viewscreen and her mouth opening to speak.

“Unidentified Starfleet vessel,” she began, her tone crisp and authoritative, “this is Captain Jane Kirk of the Starship _Enterprise_. Identify yourselves. Are you in need of assistance?”

A hush fell over the bridge. If someone had dropped a pin, Jim would have heard it. He swallowed and licked lips gone suddenly dry.

“I’m sorry,” he said to the woman on the screen, “but could you please repeat that?”

The woman’s eyes were narrowed as she stared at him. “I said,” she stated flatly, “this is Captain Jane Kirk of the _Enterprise._ You _will_ identify yourselves immediately.” 

Jim glanced back at Dr McCoy, whose eyes were as wide as those of everyone else on the bridge. This was nuts.

He looked back at the wo- at Captain Kirk. He could see her making the same assessment of him that he had already made of her. Oh well. There was nothing else for it.

“This is Captain _James_ Kirk of the U.S.S. _Enterprise._ We have survived an encounter with a violent space anomaly and request assistance.”

He saw the twitch as the other Captain Kirk suppressed her double take. A faint murmur, likely the whispering of her bridge crew, could just be heard over the communications channel.

The whisper-light footfall on the pristine white carpet of the bridge signalled the arrival of Spock at Jim’s shoulder. He felt a rush of gratitude for the Vulcan’s stolid presence.

“Spock, I-” Jim paused, his mouth still slightly open. On the viewscreen, a Vulcan woman stepped into view behind the woman calling herself Captain Kirk. She had foregone the traditional elaborate braided coiffure preferred by many Vulcan women in favour of a more practical bowl cut and wore a dress of science blue. She bore a disturbing resemblance to the First Officer standing beside _him_ \- so much so that they could have been siblings.

“Fascinating,” the Vulcan woman stated coolly, one eyebrow raised very slightly and her inflection-free tone suggestive of this being an everyday occurrence and not in any way remarkable. Her eyes fixed on her fellow Vulcan. “Am I to assume that you are Commander Spock?”

Spock inclined his head before raising his hand in the traditional _ta’al._ “As, I also assume, are you?”

His _ta’al_ was returned. “Indeed.”

There was a long, awkward pause. Eventually, the other Captain Kirk sighed. “Okay. Captain … Kirk … will you and some of your senior officers please beam aboard our ship? It seems that we have something of a mystery on our hands. I’d like to get to the bottom of it.”

Jim’s eyes swept the bridge, noting the wide-eyed, pale faces looking back at him. “Spock?” he murmured out of the corner of his mouth. “What do you think? Is it safe?”

The Vulcan inclined his head slightly. “We have no reason to suspect them of being hostile, Captain. I do not believe we would be placing ourselves in any danger.”

Jim exhaled out slowly. This was too weird.

“Okay. Spock, Bones, you’re with me. Scotty, Uhura, you too. Sulu, you have the conn. I want to be kept updated on all incoming damage reports, alright?”

A faint chorus of “yes, sir’s” greeted this pronouncement.

“Okay.” Jim exhaled again. “Let’s go find out what the hell is going on.”

**To Be Continued**


	2. The Other Enterprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-eee! It's been a long time since I updated anything. I've been so flat chat recently it hasn't been funny.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter took me ages, because it had turned into a bit of an info dump and was consequently kinda awkward. It should be fixed up now - at least, mostly. Enjoy!

The swirling gold that took up all his vision dissipated, leaving Jim confused for a moment as to whether or not they had ever actually left their _Enterprise_. Everything about the transporter room looked exactly the same. Then he blinked, and, like looking at one of those ‘spot the difference’ pictures when he was a kid, he saw that the tall, dark-haired crewman in a shirt of Engineering red had magically transformed into a tall, dark-haired woman in a red dress and knew that they were, in fact, aboard the other ship.

The doors to the transporter room slid open with a _hiss_ ; and the other Captain Kirk strode through. She was quite a sight to behold. With her no-nonsense expression and powerful gait _(did he make an entrance like that? He certainly hoped so.)_ Jim could imagine that it was the sort of sight that greeted vast barbarian hoardes not long before they stopped seeing anything at all. Commander Spock - that is, the female one - was with her, as were two other women. It didn’t take a genius to work out that he was looking at this reality’s Scotty and McCoy. 

If someone had stuck Scotty in a dress, he couldn’t have looked more like the wiry woman in Engineering red who stopped for a quick word with the transporter console technician. Her frizzy, russet-hued hair was tied back in a high ponytail that flared spectacularly from the back of her head. The smile she flashed at her underling was open and friendly, and, even from across the room, Jim could feel her positively _humming_ with energy. The other woman just _had_ to be Bones. She was as alike to him as two peas in a pod. She was taller and more curvaceous than Scotty’s counterpart and her face - like that of his friend - was heart-shaped. Her dark hair was arranged in a sleek bob cut, while her dusky complexion failed to hide the smattering of freckles across her face.

Jim wondered if he was getting a disconcerting preview of how Joanna McCoy might look in some 25 or more years time…

The quartet came to a stop as Jim and his party stepped down off the transporter pad. It was impossible not to stare - but that was okay, because they were being stared at in turn. At this close proximity, seeing these women who seemed to be their doubles in every way but gender was something like looking into a mirror - a very, very strange one.

The other Captain Kirk gave herself a little shake and stepped forward with her hand held out in greeting. “Captain Jane Titania Kirk. Welcome aboard the U.S.S. _Enterprise.”_ Jim shook her hand, making note of her strong grip. “James Tiberius,” he said. “But ‘Jim’ will be just fine.”

Jane’s mouth quirked in his own trade-mark smile. “Right. Ah … you already know my first officer, Commander Spock … this is -”

The dark haired woman stepped forward and shook Jim’s hand eagerly. “Dr Lenore McCoy,” she informed him, before her captain had a chance to. Her husky voice carried the drawl of the deep south, just as Jim knew it would. What caught him by surprise, however, was the twinkle in her eyes and the roguish smile hovering on her glossy lips. It was an expression he had seen a thousand times, on a face that he knew nearly as well as his own.

It was, without a doubt, Bones’ ‘I-want-to-tap-that’ face. And it was directed at _him._

While Jim was still processing this fact, the woman who was and wasn’t McCoy turned her attention to her counterpart. “Dr _Leonard_ McCoy, marm,” he said with a smile, likewise shaking her hand, and that of Jane. If Bones noticed the way Dr Lenore had looked at his captain and friend, he showed no sign of it. “Horatio.”

“Helena.”

Jane stepped in closer to Lenore for a moment, pressing tight to her friend’s side, in a way that Jim recognised as her subtly elbowing the other woman in the ribs for interrupting her, _because he and Bones did it to each other all the time._ “And this is my Chief Engineer, Ms Margaret Scott-”

The red-haired woman beamed cheerfully as she too, came over and shook their hands. “‘Allo.”

“-but we all call her Maggie,” Jane finished.

“Err, Montgomery,” Scotty supplied as he clasped hands with his counterpart. “But most people call me Scotty.”

“Fascinating,” both Spocks chose that moment to remark, complete with tandem eyebrow raise, and a quiet chuckle swept around the group, breaking the ice in a way that introductions had not.

“Oh - this is Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura,” Kirk stepped aside so that Uhura could come forward and get in on the hand shaking action. Jane smiled at her. “Welcome aboard. Our communications officer is Lt. Nasser Uhuru. I’m sure he’d like a chance to meet you.”

“It would seem that the personnel on each version of the _Enterprise_ correspond with one another,” female Spock said, looking Uhura up and down with an interest that would have been concealed had not Jim known his own Spock so well. As with the two McCoys, expressions and mannerisms seemed the same. _He wondered if the Vulcan and the Communications Officer had also dated in this reality._ “Male and female counterparts.”

“It would be interesting to know if we likewise have corresponding histories,” his own Spock replied, hands clasped lightly behind his back. “There is no delicate way of asking this, but, in this reality, did you similarly experience the destruction of Vulcan and the creation of an alternate reality as a result of the actions of Captain Nero? Or the awakening of Khan and his subsequent attack on Starfleet headquarters? Both are defining events for our timeline.”

“We did,” it was Jane who responded, as she exchanged a glance with her own Spock. “Here, though, their names were Captain Nera and Khanum.” She gestured to the door. “How about we head up to the Briefing Room? I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.”

The group followed as she led the way. The two McCoys, Bones and Lenore, were reminiscing about Georgia, and comparing eerily similar anecdotes on Bones’ daughter, Joanna, and Lenore’s son, Jonathan, before they’d even stepped through the transporter room doors.

Jim looked around him as they walked. He noticed Spock, Scotty and Uhura doing the same thing. The wall, the floor, the ceilings, the doors they were passing - all looked the same as on their own _Enterprise_. Yet, every time they passed a crew member, staring with ill-concealed curiosity as they went about their business, Jim would feel … it was like _deja vous,_ but not quite. He knew these faces, but they were wrong. A stubbled jaw was smooth, or a practical crew cut was become an elaborate up-do. A pair of long, shapely legs were now more solid, encased in regulation black. Jim found it enthralling and discomforting all at once.

He noticed, too, the furtive glances that both Jane and her Spock kept sending him. On Jane’s face was an echo of some of the bewilderment that he was feeling, but Spock … he could not read her expression, anymore than he could read that of his own First Officer when he particularly wanted to keep his thoughts to himself. Jim could discern speculation in that cool, brown gaze, but that was all. _Although_ , his mind must have started playing tricks on him, because he could have _sworn_ he saw the Vulcan woman’s eyes flick down to check out his ass … 

A few moments later, the troubling enigma that was Female Spock addressed him. Like his own First Officer, it seemed her habit to walk with her hands clasped lightly behind her back. It had a rather interesting effect of throwing her chest out in a most fascinating manner. For Jim, the fascination was furthered by the fact that Spock, in female form, was rather well endowed. “Captain ... Kirk,” she asked, with only the briefest pause before she said the name, “you mentioned a violent space anomaly?”

Jim fielded that question to his Science Officer. He didn’t even have to tell the Vulcan to answer for him - it was as if Spock just knew.

“Yes. A gaseous cloud of such immense proportions that it was impossible to evade. The _Enterprise_ was engulfed. It was Lt. Sulu who detected an escape - an tear in the exterior of the cloud, which deposited us into your reality. With my Captain’s permission, I shall transfer the data gathered whilst we were within the anomaly to your science console for analysis. It would be illogical not to request your assistance in this matter.”

Jim nodded his head in agreement with Spock’s plan. “Uhura, can you take care of that?”

“Yes, Captain.” The lieutenant pulled out her communicator immediately.

They reached the turbolift and stepped inside. Uhura was still busy with her communicator. “Captain,” she said softly, tapping Jim lightly on the shoulder. “Lt. Sulu’s advised me that they’ve finished collating the damage report. He said you’d asked to be kept updated.”

To his surprise, Jane answered for him. “Send it through, Lieutenant. Maggie can help your Mr Scott with any repairs that you need. She’s our resident miracle worker. Isn’t that right, Maggie?”

“Aye, marm,” the engineer agreed cheerfully. “Ah can take Mr Scott down to Engineering as soon as we drop ye off at yer level, and start getting a team and supplies together right away.”

“That’d be a bonnie help, lass,” Scotty replied. Everyone else - except the two Spocks - stared straight ahead, their faces carefully schooled into neutral expressions as both engineers fell into animated discussion of the equipment and specialists they would be likely to need. Their heavily accented “Ach’s” flew thickly through the air as the turbolift whirred along. Soon enough it stopped, and they all disembarked, except for Maggie and Scotty.

From there it was just a short stroll to the Briefing Room. There were more _Enterprise_ crew members on this level, and yet more stares. Jim was no stranger to admiring glances, but this was different. Although, as Starfleet’s poster boy, he was used to being recognised wherever he went, this had an ...edge… to it. He was beginning to feel a little like some sort of freak, being paraded on show. Belatedly, he wished that he’d thought to insist that Jane and her officers beam over to _his Enterprise_.

At that moment, welcome distraction arrived. As they came to the door to the Briefing Room, a young woman, little more than a girl, her gold dress a pleasing match for her bouncing mop of golden-brown curls, bobbed up to Jane and handed her a padd with a pleasantly accented: “Captain.” Her eyes - and Jim knew, without looking, that they would be green - widened delightfully as her gaze flicked over Jane’s shoulder to take them in.

“Thank you, Chekov.” Jane turned to make the introductions. “Everyone, this is Ensign Pavla Andrea Chekov. She’s our-”

“Resident wizkid?” Jim and Bones guessed together, drawing smiles and tolerantly amused raised eyebrows all ‘round. Pavla beamed, a charming blush blooming in her cheeks.

“As it so happens - yes.” Jane signed the padd and handed it back. “Let me guess. You have a …”

“Pavel Andreevich.” Jim addressed his comment to the doll-like Pavla, who just seemed to radiate waves of delight. “He looks just like your twin.”

“Really? Oh, Captain, do you think that I could meet him?”

Jane shook her head, but from the expression on her face it was a gesture of fond amusement and not a negative reply. “I have a feeling I’m going to be hearing that request a lot in the next few days.” She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face, one finger tapping her lips. “Why don’t we cut straight to the chase and have a bit of an informal reception, here on the _Enterprise?_ All the officers can meet and mingle - you too, Chekov - and it’ll be a good way for your crew to unwind a bit, Jim. It sounds like you’ve all just been through the wringer.”

Jim exchanged glances with his party, noting that all of them seemed approving of the idea, before nodding in agreement. “A bit of R and R sounds like just what the doctor ordered,” he replied, unable to help himself from breaking into a grin and nudging McCoy in the ribs with his elbow. “Right, Bones?”

Bones sighed good naturedly and rolled his eyes - making Jane and Lenore grin too. _“Bones, ‘eh?”_ Jane enquired, her eyes sparkling. She jerked a thumb at her own CMO. “She gets ‘Bells’.”

This time it was Lenore who rolled her eyes, but the expression on her face was tolerantly amused, rather than annoyed. Jane winked at Jim, and Uhura put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. The Spocks exchanged raised eyebrows, as if sharing a moment of forbearance at human follies and … and suddenly Jim felt better. As weird as this place was, it was still the _Enterprise_.

The party split up then, Spock and Uhura going with … Spock …. to sort out the information arriving at the science console, and also to send through a request for each ship to access the other’s historical archives, for the purpose of comparison. As he watched the trio walk away, Jim thought that Uhura seemed to be connecting with Spock’s female counterpart almost as well as she did with him. Lenore took Bones down to Medical, where Uhura had requested any injury reports would be sent through to, and they could arrange for any medical supplies that were needed to be sent from one ship to the other.

That left Jim and Jane alone in the Briefing Room….

**_To Be Continued …_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my best to keep it clear who was who - hope it worked!

**Author's Note:**

> Science has never been my best subject. If the gaseous anomaly doesn't behave quite right, I do apologise. That said, it is meant to be anomalous.


End file.
